Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
It's science I tells ya!
Punxsutawney Phil Isn't Always Right
Nearly five thousand revelers hoping for an early spring were disappointed today after Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.
But those winter jackets may be able to go in the closet sooner than the forecasting groundhog has to say.
It turns out the ultimate prognosticator- and his copycat counterparts- are wrong more often than they are right.
An analysis by the National Climatic Data Center found there is no correlation between Phil's predictions and the actual weather.
But don't tell that to the members of the Groundhog club's Inner Circle in Punxsutawney, Pa.
"I would argue with the comments he doesn't have a great track record," Jon Johnston, Phil's "Chief Healthman" told ABCNews.com. "They're missing the point then. It's always winter somewhere."
And more often than not, Phil agrees.
The well-fed, revered groundhog also has a penchant for seeing his shadow. Ever since the tradition began in 1887, Phil (and his ancestors) saw their shadows 99 times, while predicting an early spring only 16 times. There was no record for nine of the years.
Every year it's the same thing. Groundhog pops up, man pretends to ask if groundhog sees his shadow, man says whether or not, based on rodents prediction if there will, in fact, be another 6 weeks of winter or not. Every year the news media runs a story stating that the groundhogs "predictions" aren't really that accurate. They act as if it's a surprise. EVERY YEAR.
Are you kidding me? Did anyone actually think that this was actual science? Does anyone really think that this is really more than a cute tourist attraction? Do people base their lives on the "predictions" of an overfed rodent?
It's a cute tradition with no basis whatsoever on actual information received scientific fact. Nothing more. It's just like trying to predict if you are getting a pay raise at work by looking up a leprechauns ass.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
RIP Don Cornelius...
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) was an American television show host and producer who is best known as the creator of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise Soul Train which he hosted from 1971 to 1993. He passed away earlier today from a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Originally a journalist inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius recognized that in the late 1960s there was no television venue in the United States for soul music, and introduced many African-American musicians to a larger audience as a result of their appearances on Soul Train, a program that was both influential among African-Americans and popular with a wider audience. As writer, producer, and host of Soul Train, Cornelius was instrumental in offering wider exposure to black musicians like James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Michael Jackson, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers that would presage subsequent television dance programs. Cornelius said "We had a show that kids gravitated to," and Spike Lee described the program as an "urban music time capsule."
Upcoming Super Bowl info...
I still think that it's pretty sad that people are more interested in the commercials than the game. Maybe this is why.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that there was only seven minutes of actual play in an average football game.
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